Two teams were named state champions

The FFA State Convention was full of excitement this year for the Westbrook-Walnut Grove FFA Chapter. Two teams were named state champions, two teams named Runner-Up State Champions, and a team named fourth overall at the Minnesota State FFA Convention.

Dairy Foods team was awarded first place. Individuals Pakou Vue was ranked first in state followed by Zua Her, who ranked second in State. Shiney Her was ranked sixth at state. All three are seniors this year. Pahnia Vue, a freshman, was thirty-first and contributed to the team. Team Alternate Seng Xiong. The Dairy Foods team will advance to nationals in October of 2014.

A second year Soils team was also awarded first place at the Minnesota State FFA convention. Individual Morgan Dennistoun was ranked first in State. Morgan was followed by Elizabeth Woelber who ranked fifth, Mariah Olson who ranked ninth in State, and Abby Herding, who ranked 11th at State. The WWG FFA Soils team advances to nationals in May of 2015 in Oklahoma.

Westbrook Walnut Grove FFA Floriculture team was awarded second place overall in the state of Minnesota. Individuals Sophie Horkey ranked ninth in state followed by Payton Determan, who ranked tenth in State. McKenzie Deprez ranked 18th at state and Sami Hotzler ranked twenty-eighth in the state of Minnesota. Team alternate Deziree Koenig.

WWG Meats team placed second in State to a competitive rival Pipestone. Individuals Levi Bunting ranked fifth in state, Tyler Schoborg ranked seventh in state, followed by Matt Otto who ranked eighth, and Mitchell Jarmer who ranked ninth in state. Team alternate Jake Otto. The Meats team has the opportunity to go to a second place national competition in Denver in January of 2015.

This year WWG had a Job Interview finalist making a statement in the competition. Juliana Pederson was awarded third place out of 16 state finalist.

WWG had four additional teams that competed. The Crops team placed 14th as a team. Crops team members include Brody Williams, Eli Gundermann, Andrew Pederson, and Jack Jorgenson. Team alternate Adam Hass. The Small Animals Team placed 19th with a gold rating. Small Animal team members include Megan DeSmith, Tarynn Dallenbach, Callie Anderson, and Shane Buchman. The Fish and Wildlife team placed 21st earning a silver rating. Fish and Wildlife team members include Steven Yang, Bee Xiong, Kenji Hang, and Kao Xiong. Team alternate Chueyee Xiong. The Dairy Cattle team placed 31st. Team members include Juliana Pederson, Jordaan Joel, Madeline Johnson, and Emma Woelber.

It was a year in WWG FFA to go down in the books. This was the first year to have more than one state winning team. WWG FFA has an exciting future ahead of them. For more contest information: http://cde.ffa.umn.edu/Web/CDEResults.htm For highlights and state FFA photos: http://mattaddington.smugmug.com/FFA/2014-MN-FFA-State-Convention/n-LvcRm.